Tag: covid-19
  • May 23, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments,

OpenSAFELY: more proof that tackling the coronavirus pandemic does not require privacy to be compromised

In recent weeks, there has been an intense focus on the use of contact tracing apps as a way to emerge safely from the lockdowns that are in place around the world. A key question is whether to use a centralized or de-centralized architecture. After some division, the balance has firmly swung towards the latter, … Continue reading “OpenSAFELY: more proof that tackling the coronavirus pandemic does not require privacy to be compromised”

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  • May 6, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Growing storm over UK’s coronavirus tracing app shows how not to do it

As this blog noted a couple of weeks ago, many governments around the world are looking to introduce coronavirus tracing apps to help take their countries out of lockdown. The hope is that such apps can be used by millions of people to pinpoint potential new cases of Covid-19 so that medical interventions can be … Continue reading “Growing storm over UK’s coronavirus tracing app shows how not to do it”

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  • Apr 28, 2020 |
  • Caleb Chen |
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News,

How to avoid Coronavirus scam websites, calls, and texts

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the best – and worst – in human society. While people around the world have come together in solidarity to try and flatten the curve and front line essential workers are still keeping everyone fed, the scammers of the world have taken this as a golden opportunity to try … Continue reading “How to avoid Coronavirus scam websites, calls, and texts”

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  • Apr 23, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

What’s the best approach for building Bluetooth-based tracing apps as a way out of the pandemic lockdowns?

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, governments around the world are desperately trying to find a way to ease current lockdowns without triggering massive new waves of infection by Covid-19. There is a wide consensus that one promising element of any plan is the use of tracing apps. As this blog wrote back in March, the … Continue reading “What’s the best approach for building Bluetooth-based tracing apps as a way out of the pandemic lockdowns?”

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  • Apr 15, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments,

Open source, open science: the coronavirus crisis is when openness comes into its own

Open source figures frequently on this blog. That’s in part because Private Internet Access is a long-time supporter of free software, and is in the process of open-sourcing its own software. But more generally, privacy is deeply bound up with open source, for reasons a recent post explained. The importance of open source in the … Continue reading “Open source, open science: the coronavirus crisis is when openness comes into its own”

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  • Apr 1, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

How can we protect privacy during a crisis like Covid-19, when “health surveillance” is on the rise around the world?

A couple of weeks ago, this blog looked at the use of smartphones to track people so that contact tracing can be carried out to slow the spread of Covid-19. Two weeks is a long time in a pandemic. Soon after, it emerged that many countries were going further, and using smartphone location to check … Continue reading “How can we protect privacy during a crisis like Covid-19, when “health surveillance” is on the rise around the world?”

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  • Mar 25, 2020 |
  • Caleb Chen |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Poland’s COVID-19 “selfie app” raises privacy questions – will everyone eventually be tracked?

People in Poland under a mandatory 14-day quarantine have an interesting way to prove that they are following the quarantine. Usually, such mandatory quarantines are checked on by local authorities with physical visits; however, the government there has now released an app that quarantined individuals can opt in to use instead. This app, called the … Continue reading “Poland’s COVID-19 “selfie app” raises privacy questions – will everyone eventually be tracked?”

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  • Mar 19, 2020 |
  • Glyn Moody |
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

As Covid-19 spreads around the globe, so does the idea of using smartphones to track everyone to help contact tracing

It seems extraordinary that it was only a month ago that this blog wrote about the new coronavirus, also called Covid-19. At that time, it was not yet clear whether it would turn into a full-blown pandemic. Now, there is no doubt on the matter. As that blog post reported, Covid-19 began in China, and … Continue reading “As Covid-19 spreads around the globe, so does the idea of using smartphones to track everyone to help contact tracing”

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